Biryani masala powder recipe – Flavorful, aromatic & easy to make at home. This homemade biryani masala powder can be used to prepare any kind of Biryani like a hyderabadi veg dum biryani, easy chicken biryani in cooker or a simple hyderabadi chicken biryani. It can also be used to make chicken curry of your choice.
Today’s markets are flooded with ready made powders and masalas that many buy them instead of preparing at home.
But making biryani masala powder at home is very easy. The aroma of fresh homemade spice powder is always superior to the store bought ones. It can be prepared in bulk and freezed. It lasts for an year, if packed in separate containers or foils and handled with moist free spoons and hands.
For years i had been hunting for a good homemade biryani masala powder recipe that is suitable for home cooking that is not very pungent nor very spicy but should have a good and moderate aroma of spices. This recipe has been updated overtime for making it better.
The original recipe that many of my blogger friends have tried from my blog is still the same except that I have added new ingredients to make it the best. To reduce your dish from becoming pungent, use in moderate quantities.
To retain the aroma of the biryani masala powder, make small packs of the powder using foil or freezer safe jars and freeze them. Open and use them one after the other when you need it. You can even mill the ingredients which is often the best. Please stick on to the quantity of ingredients mentioned for best results.
More Masala powder recipes on the blog
Punjabi garam masala powder
Sambar powder
Pav bhaji masala powder
Simple garam masala powder
Ingredients or spices used to make biryani masala or chicken masala powder
Homemade biryani masala powder recipe
Biryani masala powder recipe | How to make biryani masala recipe
Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )
- 1 bay leaf or tej patta
- 1 ½ tsp saunf or fennel seeds or sompu or sombhu
- 2 star anise or biryani flower
- 10 to 12 Green cardamom or elaichi
- 2 Black cardamom or badi elaichi
- 1 tsp Pepper corn or kali mirch
- 5 pieces cinnamon or dalchini (2 inches each)
- 1 tbsp cloves or lavang
- 4 tbsps Coriander seeds or sabut daniya
- 2 tbsps Shahi jeera
- 1 Mace flower or strands from 1 flower or javitri
- ½ tsp Nutmeg or jaiphal – grated
- 3 stone flowers or kalpaasi or dagad phool – medium sized
How to make the recipe
- Clean up the spices one after the other to pick and discard stones and debris. Wipe clean bay leaf, mace and cinnamon stick with a cloth or tissue.
- On a low flame, dry roast the spices each separately until they begin to smell good. You can skip roasting and just sun dry them for few hours until crisp. Cool them completely. This step will increase the shelf life.
- Add them to a blender jar or spice jar. Make a fine powder. They can also be milled to a fine powder in a mill.
- Sieve and store biryani masala powder in an airtight glass jar. You can use the coarse particles to make masala tea. Biryani masala can also be freezed for an year without losing the flavor.
- Use biryani masala powder as needed while making any kind of biryani. To make chicken masala curry, use as needed based on the recipe.
NUTRITION (estimation only)
Notes
- Left over coarse powder after sieving can be used for curries or for making masala tea. Do not use coarse masala for making biryani as it totally spoils your dish.
- Roasting and sun drying are done to bring out the aroma of the spices and to prevent the masala powder from getting worms or going rancid.
- If you are going to refrigerate the powder, you can skip the roasting part. i just take my spices right from the freezer , measure and make the powder. The powder warms up on its own by the time it is fine powdered.
- Saunf or fennel seeds can be increased to 1 to 1.5 tbsps if you like the flavor.
If you are a beginner or new to Indian cooking, I highly suggest you to check the supporting step by step photos for best results. Step by step photos with description available below after the recipe card.
How to make biryani masala
1. Dry roast the spices one after the other on a low flame to prevent burning them. You could sun dry too instead of roasting or you could totally skip the process of roasting as i sometimes do and i find no difference.
2. Cool the spices and powder in a blender or you can mill it, sieve and store in an airtight jar. I powder the left over again and sieve, repeating the process thrice.
3. Store biryani masala powder in a clean airtight glass jar.
An image of kalpaasi, stone flower called as dagad phool in hyderabadi langauge. This is my latest addition to the biryani masala powder. Do not skip this if you intend to use it for chicken recipes.
Biryani masala can also be stored in refrigerator.
Radha krishnan says
Useful and valuable information.Thanks a lot.
ridwaan says
Hi Swasti,
There are so many(masala recipes; I want to and need to try a few
…). My question is how much masala per cup of Basmati rice:(a) if I cook the rice separately then layer everything and
(b) if I cook the rice with meat/veg stock?
swasthi says
Hi Ridwaan
The quantity of biryani masala to use depends on the recipe. You can check the biryani recipes here
Raji says
I dnt hv stone flower
Is it necessary to add r no problem to skip..??
swasthi says
Hi Raji
You can skip if you don’t have.
Raji says
OK thanq 🙂
Ivan says
No cumin?
swasthi says
Yes no cumin. We are using shahi jeera
Shobana says
Hi Swasthi,
I just prepared the briyani masala. It smells really good and I can’t wait to make briyani using your masala. It would be really helpful if you could tell me how many spoons do I need to use to cook 500gm of rice? Thank you.
swasthi says
Hi Shobana,
Thanks for trying. The quantity of biryani masala to use depends on the recipe. Whether it is a dum or one pot biryani, veg or non veg. You can use as mentioned in the biryani recipe you are using. Hope this helps
Gary J says
Hello,
I wanted to make my own Biryani Marsala powder and was looking for a good recipe in English. Thank you so much for this posting. The recipe is precise and the directions are very clear. I’m making Chicken Biryani for dinner this evening thanks to you!
Gary
swasthi says
Welcome Gary
Thank you so much.
Chandana says
Very flavorfull biryani masala
First time I made at home and it was more aromatic than readymade biryani masalas of shop. My biryani turned out amazing by using this masala .
Thank you
swasthi says
Welcome Chandana
Thank you so much for trying.
Roshan says
Thank you for sharing!
I love to make my Biryani from scratch.
swasthi says
Welcome Roshan
Lallie says
Your recipes are wonderful
Thank you for sharing
swasthi says
Welcome Lallie
Thank you very much
🙂
Mehendi says
Hi Swasthi, thanks for the excellent recipe! The biryani was excellent and I was proud to make from scratch 😊
swasthi says
You are welcome Mehendi
Glad to know it turned out good. Thanks for trying
bnor says
5 two inch cinnamon sticks is how much in tspn or tbspn in powder form? 1 mace flower or strands from 1 flower or javitri is how much in tspn or Tblspn ? And javitri is it pink in color? 3 medium sized stone flowers or kalpasi is how much in tspn or tblspn? I am little confused with stone fower how it looks ? Is it black and white in color?Please let me.I am planning to make this egg biryani.All ingredients in the biryani looks good. .God bless you.
swasthi says
Hi
Thanks a lot for the wishes.
Unfortunately I cannot tell you accurately how much these spices will measure in powder form. Even if i tell you approximately it may not come out good. Pls let me know which egg biryani recipe you want to try. There are 4 egg biryanis on the blog. I may be able to tell you how much powder you can use for the recipe. Yes javitri will be slightly pink to light orange in shade. You can also skip stone flower if you dont have.
Manoj says
Supereb
Narasimha rao says
Dum biryani masala ingredients in kilograms
gajensra says
good
Manik says
Please also mention how much of masala powder is to be used for a particular quantity of biryani.
Kadam says
OWSOME! Thank you so much.
One request I want biryani masala powder in grams. Pls
swasthi says
Welcome. At this moment i don’t have the recipe in grams. I will try to update when i make it next time
Jennifer Pais says
In your recipe for biryani masala, you mention 3 stone flowers. Since stone flowers come in flakes, how much of a teaspoon would make 1 stone flower? I would like to try out your recipe.
swasthi says
Hi Jennifer
You can try using 1/2 tsp flakes. Stone flower is used only for flavor. Too much of it can cause adverse health effects. So i guess 1/2 tsp should be okay. Hope this helps
Jennifer Pais says
Thank you.
Samirah says
Hi Swati
Awesome recipe. I have received many compliments on the biriyani.
Have you tried Marathi Moggu in a biryani powder? what is the shelf life of powder stored in a air tight container in a cabinet vs refridgerator.
Thanks
swasthi says
Welcome Samirah
Thanks for trying. We generally use marati moggu in bisebele bath and karnataka style sambar powder. I have seen it is used in karnataka cuisine but have not personally tried it in biryani masala. My mother uses it in garam masala but not sure if it goes well for meat biryani. If stored in fridge it keeps good for 3 months and in freezer for 12 months. Cabinet for a month. But if you are a biryani lover and cook often, it will not even last for 6 weeks.
Anu Philip says
Hi swathi, thank you so much for this recipe. I made it fresh for the chicken biriyani and the taste was awesome! Thank you once again. Is it best to store this masala in the freezer, fridge or at room temp?
swasthi says
Hi Anu
You are welcome. You can store it in fridge for 3 to 4 months. If you prefer to store any longer then freeze it for upto an year. Thanks for trying.
🙂
mahi says
I live in Bangladesh and I have never heard the name of the spice “stone flower”. If I do not get it instead of this spice what I should use.
swasthi says
Hi Mahi
It is known as Dagad phool. You can check with this name. If you don’t get you can just skip it.
Harold Joseph says
I love diversity. Enjoy experimenting with foods from different cultures. Problem is obtaining the spices. Need a single source to obtain special spices wish to try more Indian cooking & to get books or videos
swasthi says
Hi Harold Joseph
I guess you can find all the spices in a local Indian store or can order them online.